Let's Take a Walk

Walking is great for opening one’s mind to think and to dream. Walking is great with a friend and leads to wonderful conversation. Walking is a great way to explore. Walking takes you places. Let’s go Walking.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

On Sunday October 6, I walked solo up Wheeler Peak. It is the highest peak in New Mexico at
13,161 feet (4011 meters). There are two
trails to take to the peak: The Bull or the Woods Trail and the Williams Lake
Trail. Through a bit of serendipity, I
took the trail less traveled. I was very
happy that I did.

A View from Wheeler Peak looking toward Mount Walter

The Bull of the Woods Trail is the trail less traveled. I took this trail because it started from the
parking lot of the Alpine Village Suites in the Taos Ski Valley where I was
staying. It is the longer of the two
trails by about 2 miles and start about 800 feet lower in elevation. On the day of my walk, everyone else decided
to use the Williams Lake Trail.

There was a point about three-quarters ways up the mountain
that I realized that I was the only person on this trail today. I was walking on a series of switchbacks up to
the ridge that would lead to the peak.
It provided a wide open vista. I
could look back and see the entire area I had been walking through all
morning. I could look forward and see
the ridgeline to Wheeler Peak.

The View Looking Back

I was alone in this spectacular wilderness. It was dead quiet. The wind was calm. There was not a cloud in the sky. The sunshine was filling me with warmth on this
chilly day. I felt serene and
peaceful. I had a sense of euphoria
knowing I had this beautiful place to myself.
It was a spiritual experience.
It is not often one gets away from everything and can just enjoy being
in the moment in nature.

The Bull of the Woods Trails offered other gifts. It is the more scenic of the two trails by
far. During my first rest stop an hour
into my walk a pair of Gray Jays flew and dance around me before they landed on
the opposite end of the log I on which I was sitting. Near the half way point, I came across a
flock of long horn sheep on a sloping field.
They were about 300 yards from the trail. I got a good view with my binoculars. About a half mile further, a coyote crossed
my trail about 200 yards in front of me.

I was a bit bewildered as to why there was no one else on
this trail on such a beautiful day. It
was only when I reached the summit that I would learn the answer about the
trail less traveled.

At the end of my walk I had a euphoria that lasted weeks. I also had a pint of Oktoberfest beer at the
Bavarian Lodge. A perfect day!

----

The Details:

My walk started at 6am, an hour before sunrise. My first 30 minutes were in darkness. It was like walking through a tunnel made by
the forest. Only the light from my
headlamp provided illumination. I was
alone in a void. I was a bit anxious,

By 6:30am the first twilight was visible. The void was changing into a forest. 10 minutes later I could turn off my
headlamp. Sunrise was at 7am.

At 7:15 I took my first rest stop on a log. I was no longer alone. A pair of Gray Jays danced around me. They
landed on opposite side of the log I was on.
I was able to take their picture.
The morning started out dark and cold, 26F degrees, but with the
daylight and the company of the gray jays I was starting to feel warm and
happy.

I was still in the shade of the forest and the mountains. It would be another hour before sunshine
would touch my face. It really hadn’t
been too cold in the area yet this fall.
The small pond I came across had just a glaze of ice on it. This was at the Bull of the Woods pasture. The ice would probably be gone later in the
day.

Past the pond I climbed a hill that lead to a
ridgeline. On the ridgeline I had a view
of the Red River Valley on the left and the Taos Ski Area on the right. This was also the first point on my walk where
the sunshine shone upon me.

Past the ridgeline I came to more woods. On the other side of the woods there was an
open sloping field. On the far end of
the field was a flock of big horn sheep grazing. Unfortunately they were too far away to get a
good picture. I just sat in the field
for a few minutes to watch the sheep. I
took out my binoculars for a better look.
I was in full sunshine and the suns warmth felt good.

I continued on. The
trail then went over a hill (Frazer Mountain) and down the other side. At this point it started descending into La
Cal Basin. Near the beginning of my
descent I saw a coyote cross the field about 200 yards in front of me. He seemed oblivious to me which suited me
just fine. I watched him for several
minutes until he went out of site. He
looked like a magnificent animal with his golden coat and easy gait.

Going down to La Cal Basin took me back below the tree line and
along a stream. Going downhill was not
what I wanted to do since I was past the halfway point to the peak. I also had thought I somehow took a wrong
turn. It was however a good change of pace
and it wasn’t long before I started climbing again and above the tree
line.

I now found myself in the wide open area going back and
forth on switchbacks that would take me to the final ridge going to Mount
Walter and onto Wheeler Peak. It was at
this point looking across wide open country that I realized how alone I
was. I could see a long way back. There was no one else on the trail. It was such a beautiful without a cloud in
the sky. I thought surely there would be
someone else on the trail.

Being alone in such a beautiful place also gave me a feeling
of freedom and serenity. I had escaped
the world and its problems. I could just
enjoy the moment looking out at the world’s beauty. It is transcending moments like this that
make going into the wilderness a joy and provides refreshment for the soul.

I pressed on. I
passed a mountain lake. I came across
100 yards of trail with snow on it. I
finally came around a turn where I could see Wheeler Peak in the distance and
the last push up the trail to Mount Walter.

On Mount Walter I finally saw other people coming up the
Williams Lake Trail and then turning away from Mount Walter to make the final
climb to Wheeler Peak. After being on the
trail for 4.5 hours by myself, it was good to see other people and my final
goal in sight. I walked down the trail into
the saddle between the two peaks, past a large cairn where the Williams Lake
Trail intersects and onto the final climb to Wheeler Peak.

I met many people on the peak. I spent about thirty minutes up there. I took some pictures. I had someone take a picture of me. I took some pictures of others. After a snack and some water, I started back
down. I decided to take the Williams Lake
Trail back. It was the trail everyone
else took. It was shorter and more
direct: the reason everyone selected the Williams Lake Trail to get to the
peak. As a bonus, the Bavarian Lodge was
near the trail head.

The Williams Lake Trail descended directly into the Taos Ski
Valley. There were mountains on both
sides. It didn’t have the wide open
vistas like the Bull of the Woods Trail.
It was much rockier. There were
many people to see and talk to. It was a
far different experience than the Bull of the Woods Trail.

About 2/3 of the way down, the trail goes near Williams
Lake. I took the 5 minute side trip to
see the lake. It was worth it. From the lake one can see Wheeler Peak and
people going along the Williams Lake Trail.

From the lake it was a little over 2 miles through the woods
to the Bavarian Lodge. When the lodge
came into sight I had sense of accomplish and a warm feeling one only gets from
a day in the wilderness. I rewarded
myself with a pint of Oktoberfest at the lodge.
It was a great day and still early enough to do something else. Total time of my trip was 8 hours and a
distance of 14 miles.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

I want to see foods containing GMO ingredients labeled. To take personal responsibility for the food
I eat, I need to know what is in it. I
do not like that the foods companies, aided by the federal government, can hide
the fact that GMO ingredients are in the foods I buy. It seems un-American and anti-democratic to
suppress information about the foods Americans eats.

The ultimate goal is to have foods with GMO ingredients
labeled as such and provide choices of GMO or GMO-free foods. Although some state governments are starting
to act on making GMO labeling mandatory, it may be a long time before the
federal government will do so.

One action among many I am doing about GMO food is to write
to food manufacturers, retailers and restaurants about my desire to have verified
GMO-free foods. When writing to
companies I like to pick particular products since this makes the inquiry more
focused. I have done this recently for
two products: Quaker Old Fashion Oatmeal and Cheerios. I just submitted my
request through their websites. I got
some interesting responses almost immediately.
These companies have obviously thought about GMO foods a lot.

Quaker Oats, which happens to be a division of PepsiCo,
stated in their reply email:

“None of the oats, wheat or barley used
in our products -- across all brands -- are grown from genetically modified
seeds. In fact, genetically modified seeds for this/these crops are not
currently commercially available in the U.S.”
…

“When it comes to safety, the FDA has determined that
foods developed through this process [GMO] are no different than foods
developed by traditional plant breeding.”

I
do not trust the FDA determination on GMOs since they were under great political
pressure to approve GMO crops despite reservations.

General
Mills, which makes Cheerios, refers to GMOs with the term ”biotechnologically-improved
crops.” That is great marketing spin. I suppose it tries to convey the impression
GMO crops are better than conventional crops so don’t worry. I would use the term ”biotechnologically-altered
crops” because I think it is more accurate.
General Mills also stated that

“ … the FDA does not require special
labeling for it [GMO]. However, if food has been significantly altered in
composition or nutrient content, or if biotechnology introduces allergens into
food, special labeling is required. None of our products requires special
labeling. Accordingly, we do not test them for the presence of this material.”

Hey, we see no problem with GMO food ingredients so we don’t to check
for it. Further

“Because of the growing use of biotechnology
by farmers and the way that grain gets commingled in storage and shipment, it′s
certainly possible that some of our products may contain ingredients that have
been improved through biotechnology.”

We don’t know what’s GMO and what isn’t so how can we label it? Finally, they stated if you want GMO-free
just buy organic food. Oh, by the way,
we sell that too.

“General Mills also believes in
providing consumers with a variety of food options. Toward that end, we do
offer organic products that, by definition, do not use ingredients that have
been improved through biotechnology.”

Food manufacturers are aware that many people have concerns
about GMO foods. However, they generally
would rather not label their food products as GMO or GMO-free. But foods companies will also do what they
think is in their best interest. If
enough people demand to know if their products are GMO-free, the food companies
will eventually provide that information.

I encourage you to write to food manufacturers, restaurants
and supermarkets to let them know that you want GMO-free food. It’s easy through their websites. Just find their contact page. Simply state “I like your brand X, but I also
want to be informed about what is in my food.
I want to make sure my foods are healthy. One thing I want is to avoid foods with GMO
ingredients. I would like to see a
variety of your brand X that is verified GMO-free and labeled as such.” There is no need to go into a polemic about
GMO food. The food companies probably
know more about the pros and cons of GMO food then we do. We just need to say I want GMO-free food and
GMO labeling.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

During the month of July there was a stray male German
Shepherd roaming my neighborhood. He
seemed to be a friendly dog although a bit skittish. He was almost one year old. I would see him sometimes in the morning when
I went for my run with my dog. The
German Shepherd liked my dog. Eventually
this helped me make friends with the German Shepherd. He would definitely make a good companion for
someone.

Many of my neighbors had seen the dog around too. I learned that a few neighbors even put out
food for him (not a good idea because the food can attracts rats and other
varmints). But as far as I knew, nobody
tried to take him in or called the city animal shelter to have him picked-up.

I was doing yard work on a Saturday morning in late July. The dog came wondering down the street. I called to him and to my surprise he came to
me. He let me pet him. He even jumped on me in a playful way. He was really friendly. The question now is, what to do with him?

What I did was to use my cell phone to call my wife and
asked her to bring out a leash. Once I
got the leash on the dog, we called the city shelter to pick him up. The animal control officer arrived about 30
minutes later and took the dog away.
Before the animal control officer left, he had already checked the dog
for a chip (there was none) and took his photo.
The photo was immediately placed on PetHarbor.com.

There were many reasons I had the dog picked-up. I couldn't keep him. I already had a big dog who was a former shelter
dog. Socializing the dogs would have
taken a lot of effort. There is the additional cost of providing for a second big
dog. The German Shepherd was severely under
weight. He needed food and water. Distemper was going around in a few animal
populations in the area. He was
un-neutered so he could breed more strays.
There were the general public health issues with having stray dogs
roaming the streets including rabies. He needed to be off the streets.

The animal shelter holds dogs for four days to see if an
owner will claim them. After four days,
the dogs becomes city property and he can be adopted. Unfortunately, a dog can be put down if they
are not considered adoptable and the shelter needs room for more dogs.

The shelter has a program for sponsoring pets for
adoption. Basically, the sponsor pays
the adoption fee allowing the pet to be adopted for free. A neighbor and I sponsored the dog. Sponsoring the dog gives it’s the best chance
for adoption since the shelter can immediately get the dog neutered and make
sure his shots are up to date. The dog
is ready to leave the shelter as soon as someone wants to adopt him. Sponsoring also means the dog will not be
killed by the shelter.

The good news is that 10 days after being picked up, the dog
was adopted. I don’t know who adopted
him but I hope is has a good family now.

There a few things I need to say.

My neighborhood uses an email list
and the Nextdoor.com message board for neighborhood communications. I used these services to get the word out
about what was happening with the dog.
Many neighbors had seen the dog and had taken a liking to it. I thought it was appropriate to keep my
neighbors informed. I also hoped it
might help get the dog adopted.

One neighbor commented that I given
the dog a “death sentence” when I had animal services pick him up. The dog was already underweight and had
nearly been hit by a car. Keeping the
dog on the street was not exactly a way to give him a long life. At least at the shelter, he had a chance to
be adopted.

The problem is not with too many
dogs at the shelter forcing the shelter to put down dogs. The problem is with irresponsible people who
don’t get their pets sterilized and let them run around, escape or abandon them
so the can breed.

I learned much about shelters
including the fact that my city shelter has an adoption sponsorship program. Sponsoring a pet can greatly enhances its
adoptability.

Finally, I visited the dog shelter where the dog was
taken. I saw many wonderful dogs and
cats there. They would make good
companions for most people. If you are
looking for a pet or know someone who is, the best place to start are your
local animal shelters. The PetHarbor.com
and Petfinder.com websites are also good places to find adoptable pets and
shelters in your area.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Besides my regular workout routine every day, I am trying to
continue to improve my diet. I cut out
added sugar years ago (e.g. no more soft drinks or sports drinks and added more
fruits, veggies and legumes). Now I am working
at reducing fat. I avoid processed
food. I cut meat and dairy way back,
reduced oil in cooking, eliminated salad dressing and no fried foods including French
fries. I now consume a mostly a plant
based diet: fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and nuts. I eat small amounts of meat and cheese four
or five times a week. I now must work to
reduce my favorite fat sources: dark chocolate (75% fat), avocados / guacamole
(67% fat) and nuts (67% fat). Getting
the fat out is hard.

I have been working hard to reduce fat from my diet. It is
not easy. Fat seems to be everywhere. No wonder we have cardio-vascular disease
and cognitive decline as we get older. However, I am having success if the
reduction if my recent cholesterol numbers is an indication (down 24 points
from my last check and way south of 200; I have never been over 200.).

The big things are greatly reducing meat and dairy
consumption plus eliminating all fried foods. Salad dressings are a no-no since
they are mostly fat. One must also avoid added cooking oils. Of course,
processed foods and junk foods are also a big source of too much fat. This
leaves mostly a plant based diet. However, some plants based foods contain high
levels of fat so ones needs to be careful not to eat too much of them. These
high-fat plant based foods include dark chocolate (my favorite), avocados
(guacamole), olives, nuts and seeds (even flax seed is over 60% fat).

We need some fat in our diets. The “Forks Over Knives” doctors, T. Colin
Campbell, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, recommend a diet with only 10% fat. Their diet is a 100% plant based diet. A 10% target may be appropriate if you have a
cardio-vascular disease. I think a
reasonably target is 20% for healthy people.
This allows me to enjoy some dark chocolate, avocados and meat occasionally. The “Vegan Before 6” approach Mark Bittman
wrote about in a new book might be another way to reduce fat in a diet. What I
am sure about is the 30% to 40% fat in the typical American diet is way too
much and is due mostly to the big meat portions, processed foods and not enough
fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Nilofer Merchant has a great idea regarding walking and meetings that is good for your health and good for your meetings. Hear her explain it in this Ted Talk (3.5 minutes).
I think walking with a friend, family member or colleague is great anytime and always leads to good conversation.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

I like to walk, run and bicycle outside. I like to be active. But, I don’t like going to a gym or exercising
inside. I simply find it much more
enjoyable and convenient to exercise outside.
I don’t think of it as exercise at all.
I think of it more like play or exploring. As it turns outs, people may enjoy outside
exercise better going to the gym and may be more likely to stay with an
exercise routine.

A recent article in The New York Times’ blog, Well, explained
the benefits of exercising outside.

In comparing walking inside, on a treadmill or track vs.
walking outside the article states:

“In virtually all of the studies,
the volunteers reported enjoying the outside activity more and, on subsequent
psychological tests, scored significantly higher on measures of vitality,
enthusiasm, pleasure and self-esteem and lower on tension, depression and
fatigue after they walked outside.”

I concurred with their findings based on my own personal
experience.

I enjoyed doing things outside since childhood. I would simply run around or ride bicycles
with my friend. It was always enjoyable
to play a pickup game of softball, basketball or tag football. In high school, I was on track and
cross-country teams. We always did our
workouts outside. Running with my
teammates during practice was not just a workout but a social activity. On long training runs, there is a lot of
conversation and friendships are built.

Running, walking or bicycling outside still gives me a sense
of freedom and independence. I can vary
my route or turn down a different street.
I don’t have to drive to a gym first. I often try to discover new paths, parks and
places to go. Being outside and going to
new places breaks up the monotony of exercise and keeps it fresh.

It’s easy too. I just
put on my exercise clothes appropriate for the weather and go out the back door
to start my run. When I walk, I can
usually just go in whatever clothes I am currently wearing. I take my dog with me, because he is always
ready to go for a walk.

So if you want to start
exercising, my best advice is to step outside and start moving.